January 2013

I recently went to see “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” in HFR 3D. It was very enjoyable, but not so much so that I would never watch a movie in anything but HFR 3D. (If I did say that, I’d be out of luck- “The Hobbit” is the only HFR 3D movie out there!)

Some people (especially film critics) didn’t like HFR, but that doesn’t mean that HFR is DOA. When sound movies came out some people didn’t like them. When color movies came out some people didn’t like them either.
I don’t really know of any movie that really benefits greatly from color, or even sound for that matter. Color and sound are just things that make movies more enjoyable to watch.

You might argue and say that sound is essential. It isn’t. Directors for the first 30+ years got along fine without it, and didn’t think they were missing out on anything. The style of film now requires it, but that’s because people have exploited the benefits of sound. The same goes for color. It’s great to have- I don’t think “The Avengers” in B&W would have the same “coolness factor”- but it’s not essential.

“The Hobbit” is the first movie ever shot in HFR 3D, so I have no idea how HFR 3D as a film technique will eventually pan out. I personally thought that some HFR shots made parts of “The Hobbit” worse, since it made lighting errors more obvious, but the first movies in color weren’t that great either, so it’s hard to tell where 3D will go. It’s either going to be a fad, or it’ll eventually be just like sound and color- normal.

You don’t here of anyone saying their movie is “in technicolor” anymore because its understood that all movies released today will be color. We’ll know that 3D is here to stay when its no longer advertised and hyped as “3D!”.